The spear units are the backbone of most early armies and they continue to be
useful when other, more advanced units come into play. All spear-armed units get
a bonus when they are in tight, ordered ranks. The bonus is +1 defence and
+1 charge for each supporting rank and +1 to attack for a second
supporting rank. A supporting rank is simply the rank behind the one at the
front, which is doing all the fighting. You can tell when a man in the rear
ranks is giving support; he will play his fighting animation even though he is
not engaged in combat. A spearman can only get support from the two ranks
directly behind him so there is no reason to deploy spears in ranks thicker than
four (one at the front, two to support and one to supply reinforcements so the
unit can take losses without losing effectiveness). Spearmen are best left in
hold formation as this forces them to maintain their supportive ranks and keeps
their bonus intact, as well as bestowing another bonus to defence at the expense
of a small (mostly unimportant) penalty to attack. Trees disrupt the formation
causing the rank bonus to apply unevenly (some men will still get support while
others will be isolated) so you should endeavour to keep spears out of trees.
Moving for long distances or running will also disrupt the spears formation so
you should try to move them slowly and in several stages to give them time to
re-form. When spearmen are placed on hold position they keep their formation
much better and can consequently survive combat much better. Therefore you
shouldn’t worry about charging your enemy, instead halt slightly in front of
them, go to hold position and wait for them to charge you. This is even easier
on defence; just wait for the enemy to come to you. Spear units have little to
gain by charging (there are some exceptions noted in the detailed unit analysis
below) and much to gain by holding their position. Spears need to engage the
enemy head on; if they are flanked or attacked from behind their formation
quickly falls apart, making them extremely vulnerable. Sword armed units kill
spearmen very quickly so try to keep them away from your spears, however if you
cannot avoid it your spears will be able to hold out for a short time, giving
you the chance to send aid. For the most part you will be using spears to pin an
enemy unit while you use more effective ones to do the actual killing, although
some spearmen can attack effectively (again these units are noted below). All
spear-armed units get a bonus of +1 attack and +4 defence when they are facing
cavalry; it is this unique bonus that makes them so effective when faced with
mounted troops (both horses and camels).
Spear units are best at: Holding a front line from which your other units can
operate (e.g. cavalry sheltering behind the spears before charging out to attack
and then retreating behind the spears to rest and regroup.), protecting archers
and other more vulnerable units, receiving charges – especially cavalry
charges, killing cavalry, pinning an enemy in place ready for another attack,
delaying the enemy while you fight elsewhere, holding an important location
(e.g. a bridge or a breach in a castle wall), and adding cheap, capable bulk to
an army.
For a more in-depth explanation of why I don’t think charging spears is
worthwhile in most situations read appendix 5 at the bottom of this guide. You
don’t need to read it to understand tactics, it is mostly for the benefit of
number liking people and those who want to know the whys and wherefores of
everything.
M1
M2
Images M1 and M2:This unit of spears is in excellent order and can fight with maximum efficiency.
M3
Image M3:This unit of spears is so disordered most men will not receive the rank bonus. This is a disaster in the making.
THE UNIT STATS IN THIS SECTION DO NOT CONTAIN THE RANK BONUS, YOU WILL HAVE TO
ADD THAT YOURSELF!
Feudal sergeants.
Charge 5 Attack 0 Defence –1 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 200
Support cost 62
Feudal sergeants are solid spearmen with pretty average statistics. They
represent a noticeable improvement on the basic spearman and serve well in the
early period (1088-1205). Because their defence and armour stats are fairly low
they can die quite quickly. They have good morale which stops them fleeing in
terror after a few losses and enables them to work in morale damaging
circumstances (e.g. when they are under missile fire or outnumbered). Feudal
sergeants have a large shield that protects them from missile fire and adds
slightly to their defence. When more advanced sergeant types (Chivalric and
Gothic) become available you can still get some use out of Feudal sergeants.
Because they have higher morale than Chivalric sergeants and are faster than
Gothic sergeants Feudal sergeants can make reasonable attack troops. They
won’t do much damage compared to more specialist troops but they will be able
to tie up enemy reinforcements (circle your feudal sergeants around the enemy
line and attack the rearguard), keep a persistent attack on a flank (send them
to the flank and have them hold position, forcing the enemy to fight them for a
long time under morale harming conditions) and lead suicide mission that require
something tougher than peasants. They have a large shield.
Chivalric sergeants.
Charge 5 Attack –1 Defence 3 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 300
Support cost 62
Chivalric sergeants are very tough spearmen; they have plenty of armour and
defence as well as a big shield and the spear rank bonus. It takes a lot to kill
Chivalric sergeants because they are only really vulnerable to swordsmen and
armour piercing troops and even against these troops Chivalric sergeants can
keep going for a long time. Arrows are not very effective against this unit -
they have too much armour, only ranged units with armour piercing capabilities
(e.g. longbow men, javelins and crossbows etc) can do much damage. Chivalric
sergeants have low morale but this is not as big a problem as it may appear. As
long as you are using the spearmen properly the only things to impact morale
should be casualties, missile fire and routing friendly units. Because chivalric
sergeants are so tough they die slowly, often meaning they are on equal footing
with Feudal sergeants and their higher morale and greater casualties. Missile
fire only causes a morale penalty when it kills a man in the unit; since most
non-armour piercing missiles glance off the armour the penalty often only
applies when armour-piercing units are firing, and chivalric sergeants still
have good protection (the large shield) from armour piercing missiles. Finally
if your army starts to rout your spearmen are probably right in the thick of the
fighting so they would join the rout anyway. The only real problem with
chivalric sergeants is the era in which they appear, after 1205 (the high era)
spearmen are less useful because polearm troops become more common. Polearm
troops don’t get rank bonuses or defence bonus when against cavalry but they
do get an attack bonus vs cavalry and they all possess armour-piercing attacks.
This means that polearm troops will rip through cavalry like there’s no
tomorrow, taking one of the spearmen’s major jobs in the process. You will
still need chivalric sergeants to make up part of your front line but you will
be using them less than before. They have a large shield.
Gothic sergeants.
Charge 5 Attack 0 Defence 5 Armour 5 Speed 4, 8, 9 Morale 2 Cost 350 Support
cost 62
Gothic sergeants are the best-protected spearmen in the game, they have the
highest defence and armour and they still have the large shields. This massive
quantity of armour weighs them down, making them the slowest spearmen around.
This lack of speed makes it harder to use them on the offensive but doesn’t
really matter if you are defending since the enemy must come to you. They are
even more invulnerable to non-armour piercing arrows than chivalric sergeants,
but once again armour piercing missiles will do some damage. Gothic sergeants
are still vulnerable to swordsmen but since there is no new sword unit available
in Late (1321) they will mostly be fighting outdated swordsmen like chivalric
men at arms. This does improve their chances of survival, although they will
still lose eventually (if everything is equal or they only have a small bonus).
Armour piercing melee units like billmen are the bane of gothic sergeants
because the high armour value of the gothic sergeants gives a larger boost to
the armour piercing effect. Gothic sergeants also have more competition because
Pikemen become available in the late era and they can perform similarly to
spearmen. So in the end gothic sergeants may be the best of the spearmen but it
is rather unlikely that you will ever need (or want) to use them in large
numbers. They have a large shield but it only has a 0.5 modifer.
Italian light infantry.
Charge 5 Attack 0 Defence 3 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 400 Support
cost 62
Italian light infantry are available in early but they are just like an upgraded
version of chivalric sergeants. Whenever you get the chance to use this unit
(either by playing as the Italians or via mercenaries) in early you should take
it because they are simply devastating in early – nothing can match them. When
the clock hits 1205 and the high era units become available Italian infantry
looses some of its shine because the competition is on a more even footing. This
doesn’t mean that Italian infantry becomes obsolete; it means that they go
from being outstanding to being very good. Italian infantry are capable of doing
any of the tasks listed in the spears introduction and they can do them all
well. In early it is quite reasonable to use them to attack by flanking and
their charge should be used on occasion because the individual soldiers are
strong enough to fight on their own if the formation breaks up. After early is
finished you should start to use your Italian infantry more carefully, don’t
charge with them and ensure they keep formation at all times, use them like
chivalric sergeants after 1205. They have a large shield.
Muwahid foot soldiers.
Charge 7 Attack 1 Defence –1 Armour 1 Speed 6, 12, 13 Morale 4 Cost 225
Support cost 37
Muwahid foot soldiers are very different to the other spear units. Firstly they
have just 80 men instead of the usual 133. This makes it much harder to keep
them in the optimal four ranks and ensures that the unit can only cover a small
area. Muwahid’s have a very high charge and a good attack (for spears), when
this is combined with their small number it is obvious that this spear unit is
made to attack rather than defend. Set them up in for ranks and order them to
hold formation, then use their high speed to get around the enemies flanks and
charge them from behind. Try to let the unit reform before charging them; this
will enable them to do more and take less damage. You shouldn’t charge sword
units because swords will still slaughter your Muwahids even though they are
more offence orientated. They have a large shield.
Nubian spearmen.
Charge 4 Attack 0 Defence –1 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 175
Support cost 37
Nubian spearmen are slightly different from the usual spear units because they
are disciplined. This means that they are easier to control and the death of
your general or routing troops that are not disciplined or elite doesn’t
bother them. Otherwise Nubian spearmen are the Muslim equivalent of feudal
sergeants and should be used in a similar manner. They have a small shield.
Order foot soldiers.
Charge 5 Attack 0 Defence 3 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 2 Cost 400 Support
cost 62
Order foot soldiers are only available through crusades: you can’t build them.
They are slightly better chivalric sergeants, they have higher morale and if you
get them in early they will be nearly as dangerous as Italian infantry. Take a
look at the sections on chivalric sergeants and Italian infantry, and then apply
that knowledge to this unit. They have a large shield.
Saracen infantry.
Charge 5 Attack –1 Defence 3 Armour 3 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 300
Support cost 50
Saracen infantry are something of a coup for the Muslims. Saracens are available
to build from early and they are quite easy to reach, the advantage is that they
are very similar to chivalric sergeants, so for one era the Muslims have a much
better spear unit that any of the other factions, with the exception of the
Italians. Use your Saracens aggressively throughout the early period and then
use them defensively after 1205, take a look at the Italian infantry section for
more. They have a large shield.
Spearmen.
Charge 5 Attack –1 Defence –1 Armour 1 Speed 6, 10, 11 Morale 0 Cost 150
Support cost 50
Well, someone had to come bottom of the class and spearmen have this
‘honour’. They are the weakest of the bunch in every way and there is no
reason to use them as main line troops when another variety of spearman is
available (if you’re the Byzantines then you will have to make do or hire
mercenaries). This is your pinning unit for the times when you want to use
ranged attacks that will damage your own men (e.g. naptha, close range volleys
of missiles, and javelins) because they will hold the unit in place for longer
than peasants and they are less likely to run away before your can finish your
attack. Spearmen are also useful for pinning dangerous units that will need
swarming from several directions, using them frees up better troops to do the
swarming and it doesn’t matter if they take a lot of casualties. Whenever I
refer to a junk unit think spearmen! So what can you do if you are forced to use
spearmen, especially against more advanced units? Firstly you must always keep
them on hold formation and keep them properly formed up, if they get scattered
they will die fast. Secondly you should use them in combination with other
units, the spearmen should take the attack while the other unit flanks and does
the actual killing. Thirdly you should keep their flanks well protected as well
as positioning them on high ground to guard their low morale and prevent them
running. If you can you should try to keep your general nearby to get another
morale bonus from him. Always endeavour to keep a single unit from routing when
you are using spearmen, their morale is not up to watching their comrades
fleeing and they will join the rout very quickly. They have a large shield.